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William F. Keenan, MD
Harrisburg Family Practice Center Harrisburg Hospital Harrisburg, Pa

JAMA. 1981;246(10):1088.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Normally, the difference between invasive and noninvasive measurements of blood pressure (BP) are of the order of 10 mm Hg or less.¹ Roughly 30% of patients have a greater difference, and occasionally, the difference is striking. When noninvasive measurements lead to a false diagnosis of elevated BP, pseudohypertension exists. The following patient had a substantial discrepancy between invasive and noninvasive pressure readings giving the initial impression of a hypertensive crisis.

Report of a Case.—

A 72-year-old man had acute onset of abdominal pain. At that time, his BP was 188/110 mm Hg by auscultation. This was performed with some difficulty, as the Korotkoff's sounds could barely be heard. Pulses in the carotid, radial, antecubital, and femoral arteries were symmetrical but weak. The ECG showed no evidence of hypertrophy, ischemia, or strain.

He was found to have a sigmoid volvulus. In the operating room the systolic BP . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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